The Spirit of the Waters’ warning was strong in his mind.
Aim for the heart, Prince.
The First took a step to the right.
Marius mirrored her movements, keeping space between them. She breathed, or at least whatever approximation of breathing a creature like her required, and he did the same.
She raised a brow, forming a whip of shadows and lashing it out at him.
Marius darted to the left. The whip slashed across his cheek, and his flesh stung.
His opponent sucked in a breath, and the darkness in her eyes deepened. The shadows around her thickened, and then, she let out a rough laugh.
Nothing about this seemed amusing to Marius.
“How kind of you to bleed for us, mortal.” That madness glinted in her eyes, and a pit formed in his stomach.
Us?
Marius’s wide eyes met Luna’s over the First’s shoulder. His sister shook her head imperceptibly.
“I don’t know,” she mouthed.
Sebastian’s shoulders tensed, and twin swords made of shadows formed in his hands as he stepped back and stood next to Luna. His gaze swiveled through the forest, searching.
Dread crawled down Marius’s spine, and goosebumps erupted on his flesh.
“Oh, my,” the First chuckled, the sound lacking warmth. “Did you think I was alone?”
What kind of question was that? Of course, she was alone.
Who else would be with?—
Marius’s mind blanked, and thinking became impossible as the First flicked her hand. Shadows poured from her, darkening the night. They rippled, and the air shifted.
The scent of death, which had already been so strong that Marius could barely breathe, multiplied. It was like he’d been dropped into a pit of hell.
Which didn’t make sense, except…
A gasp came from beside him as Vivienne darted forward and grabbed his left arm.
“Marius, do you see... There are….”
Her voice trembled and trailed off as her grip squeezed his arm. Her loss for words wasn’t nearly as troubling as the fear in her voice.
“I see them.” Marius’s hand tightened around the hilt of the Forsaken Blade, the etchings digging into his palm and threatening to cut his skin.
By all the gods and anything he’d ever held holy, this was bad. Worse,if possible, than everything he and Vivienne had faced thus far. Which said a lot.
Maybe his bodyguard was right. Maybe he did attract trouble more than the average person because this...
He swallowed past the growing lump in his throat.
This was far worse than he ever could’ve imagined.
Time seemed to slow as he stared at the nightmare unraveling before them.
Standing in a semi-circle around the First, their bodies bent at strange angles as though their limbs had been broken and never properly reformed, were three men and two women wearing bloody and torn clothes. They were… vampires. Or at least, he thought they were.
